Printing on container closures



. Dec. 30, 1969 w. WEBER 3,486,442

PRINTING ON CONTAINER CLOSURES Filed D90. 20, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INKROLLER r ll!" CLUTCH CONTROL --6 "FIG.

INVENTOR.

w. J. WEBER ATTORNEYS Dec. 30, 1969 w. J. WEBER 3,486,442

PRINTING ON CONTAINER GLOSURES Filed De c. 20. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

ROLLER INVENTOR.

F/Q 3 w. J. WEBER A T TORNE VS United States Patent 3,486,442 PRINTING0N CONTAINER CLOSURES William J. Weber, Fulton, N.Y., assignor toPhillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 20,1967, Ser. No. 692,224

Int. Cl. B41f 17/18 US. Cl. 10140 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREApparatus is provided for printing on closures which are secured to thetops of containers. A shoulder on the container is moved into engagementwith a stationary guide member having an elongated recess and is rotatedalong the guide member. This causes the closure member to engage aprinting mechanism which is positioned adjacent the stationary guidemember.

This invention relates to printing on closures after they have beensecured to bottles or other containers.

It is often desirable to print dates or other information on closures.For example, in the dairy industry it is common practice to print thedate of filling or the filling location on lids for milk bottles. Inorder to reduce inventories of pre-printed closures and to avoid errorsresulting from use of improper closures, it is desirable to printidentification data on the closure at the time the closure is placed onthe bottle. Heretofore, this has been a difficult operation because thebottles move along the filling line at a relatively high speed. Attemptsto print on the moving bottles have often resulted in smearing of theink.

In accordance with the present invention, novel apparatus is providedwhich is capable of printing on closures for containers which haveoutwardly extending shoulders. A first stationary guide member ispositioned with respect to the conveyor line such that the shoulder onthe container is adapted to enter an elongated recess in the guidemember. A movable guide member is positioned opposite the stationaryguide member to engage the container and force the shoulder into therecess of the stationary guide member. The movable guide member alsorotates the container as it moves along the stationary guide member soas to move the closure member into engagement with a printing device.Apparatus is also provided for inking the printing device periodicallyas the containers are moved into the printing location on the conveyor.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide apparatus forprinting on closure members which are afiixed to containers.

Another object is to provide apparatus which is useful in printingidentification data on caps for milk bottles.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention should becomeapparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end view of the printing apparatus of this invention.FIGURE 2 is a top view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a crosssectional view of the stationary guide.

Referring now to the drawing in detail and to FIG- URES 1 and 2 inparticular, there is shown a milk bottle which has a cap 11 positionedthereon. The apparatus of this invention is employed to,print a date orother identification data on the edge of cap 11 after the milk bottlehas been filled and the cap attached. This printmg apparatus issupported by a stationary plate 12 which is secured to a suitable frame11?. A second plate 14 is positioned above plate 12 so as to be free tomove vertically with respect to plate 12. This movement can beaccomplished by means of a rod 15 which is threaded to 3,486,442Patented Dec. 30, 1969 plate 12 and which extends through plate 14 intoa sleeve 16, the latter being rigidly secured to plate 14. The upper endof rod 15 is provided with an annular recess into which is inserted apin 17. This permits the rod to rotate inside the sleeve, but preventsvertical movement between the two members. Thus, rotation of rod 15serves to raise or lower plate 14 with respect to plate 12. Plate 14slides on vertical support rods 18, 19, 20 and 21 which are secured attheir lower ends to plate 12.

Support members 22 and 23 are secured to and extend upwardly from plate14. These members serve to position a conveyor belt 24 which is moved bya chain 25, the latter being actuated by a suitable drive mechanism, notshown, to move the bottles past the closure printing apparatus. Anelongated stationary guide member 27 is positioned above and extendsparallel to conveyor belt 24. Guide member 27 is retained in thisposition by horizontal support rods 28 and 29, the latter being securedto vertical rods 18 and 19, respectively. Guide member 27 is providedwith a recess which is adapted to receive a shoulder 30 on bottle 10.While the exact shape, of this recess can vary, depending on the shapeof the shoulder on the bottle, a typical recess cross section isillustrated in FIGURE 3. The ends of guide member 27 are tapered toreceive the incoming bottle. The guide member is positioned aboveconveyor belt 24 a distance such that shoulder 30 partially enters therecess when the bottle is moved by the conveyor belt past the entranceend of the guide member. Rotatable rod 15 serves to permit the elevationof conveyor belt 24 to be adjusted to accommodate bottles of differentheights.

A movable belt 32 extends about pulleys 33 and 34 which are positionedsuch that belt 32 is parallel to and opposite guide member 27. Belt 32is provided with a recess which also engages shoulder 30 of bottle 10 toprovide a movable guide member. Pulleys 33 and 34 are mounted on a driveshaft 35 and a support rod 36, respectively. Shaft 35 extends throughplate 12 and has a drive pulley 37 mounted thereon. A belt 38 extendsfrom pulley 37 to a suitable drive motor, not shown. Rotation of pulley37 thus rotates drive shaft 35, pulley 33 and belt 32. A back-up member40 is positioned behind belt 32 to retain the belt in engagement withshoulder 30. Plate 40 is secured in this position by support rods 41 and42 which are attached to respective rods 20 and 21.

Stationary guide member 27 is of a configuration and is positioned suchthat bottle 10 is lifted slightly above conveyor 24 when belt 32 forcesshoulder 30 into the recess of guide member 27. Belt 32 also serves torotate bottle 10 along guide member 27. At the end of guide member 27the bottle is lowered to conveyor belt 24 and is removed from theprinting mechanism.

A second belt 43 extends around pulleys 44 and 45, which are positionedsuch that belt 43 engages the edge of cap 11. Belt 43 carries printingtype to impress the desired markings on cap 11. Pulleys 44 and 45 aremounted on respective rotatable shafts 46 and 47, the former beingrotatable. Shaft 46 is connected by a clutch 50 to a drive shaft 51, anda belt 52 extends between pulleys 53 and 54 which are secured torespective shafts 35 and 51. Thus, pulley 44 and belt 43 are rotatedWhen clutch 50 is energized. An ink roller 55 engages belt 43 to ink thetype. This ink roller is secured to a shaft 56 which is driven fromshaft 46 by means of a belt 57 which extends between pulleys 58 and 59.Ink roller 55 advantageously can be a hollow roller which is filledperiodically with ink through opening 55a, although other types ofinking rollers can be used.

In the operation of the printing mechanism of this lnventlon, printingbelt 43 normaly is stationary when a bottle is rotated along guide 27.Belt 43 can be provided w1th continuous type or with a plurality ofindividual sets 3 of types spaced from one another, depending to somextent on the information to be printed. A rotatable arm 60 is mountedadjacent the conveyor belt so as to close a switch 61 when engaged by abottle on the conveyor belt. Suitable 'guide means, not shown, areprovided adjacent the conveyor belt to force the incoming bottles intoengagement with arm 60. Switch 61 is connected to a clutch controldevice 62 illustrated in FIGURE 1. This clutch control can comprise asource of electrical energy and a relay which is actuated when switch 61is closed. Output leads 63 and 64 extend from clutch control 62 toelectromagnetic clutch 50, the latter being provided with suitable sliprings, not shown, which engage leads 63 and 64. In this manner, clutch50 is energized and belt 43 is moved and inked each time a bottle entersthe printing mechanism. In normal operation, the botles are spaced onthe conveyor such that belt 43 remains stationary during the actualprinting operation. Other bottle detecting means, such as a lamp andphotocell, can be employed in place of switch 61. V

In view of the foregoing description, it can be seen that efiicientprinting apparatus is provided by this invention. The bottles or othercontainers are securely retained by the guide means such that apositive'engagement is made with the printing type. This printingmechanism is particularly useful in conjunction'with high speed'fillinglines normally found in dairies and similar plants. In order to simplifythe drawing, various structural details have been omitted. For example,a number of supporting sleeves and brackets are employed to retain .thevarious shafts and support rods and the conveyor belt in the positionsillustrated.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with a presentlypreferred embodiment, it should be evident that it is not limitedthereto.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for use in printing on closures which are secured to thetops of containers, the latter having outwardly extending shoulders,which apparatus comprises:

a conveyor to transport such containers having closures secured thereto;

a stationary guide member having an elongated recess to receive theshoulder of a container, said stationary guide means extending parallelto said conveyor;

a movable guide member having a recess to ,receive the shoulder of acontainer, said movable guide means being positioned in spacedrelationship with said stationary guide member so as to engage acontainer moved by said conveyor and force the shoulder of suchcontainer into the recess of said stationary guide member;

means to actuate said movable guide member so that the shoulder of acontainer disposed between the two guide members is rotated along saidstationary guide member; and

a printing means positioned with.:respect to said stationary guidemember so that rotation of a container along said stationary guidemember results' in rotation of the closure on said container past and inengagement with said printing means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movable guide means comprisinga belt having a recess in the outer surface thereof to engage theshoulder of a container, and means to position said belt so that acontainer is disposed between said stationary guide member and therecess in said belt.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means to position said beltcomprises first and second pulleys spaced from one another in adirection parallel to said conveyor, said belt extending around saidpulleys, and support means positioned between said pulleys and adjacentsaid belt so as to retain said belt in engagement with a containerdisposed between said stationary guide means and said belt.

4. The apparatus of claim -1 wherein said conveyor comprises a movablebelt adapated to have containers mount ed thereon, and wherein saidmovable and stationary guide members are positioned with respect to saidbelt such that a container disposed between said guide members is lifteda short distance 011 said belt.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising means to effect relativemovement between said conveyor belt and said guide members toaccommodate containers of different heights. r

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said printing means comprises a belthaving type mounted thereon, means positioning said belt such that saidtype is in engagement with the closure on a container when the containeris disposed between said guide members, inking means, and means to movesaid belt periodically past said inking means to ink said type.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said means to move said beltcomprises detecting means positioned adjacent said conveyor so as to beactuated by movement of a container on said conveyor past said detectingmeans, and means responsive to said detecting means to energize saidmeans to move said belt.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,346,174 4/1944 Malnar 101 -42,703,047 3/1955 Scherer et al. l0l-8 2,891,468 6/ 1959 Taylor et al.l015 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner I C. D. CROWDER, AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R. 10l367

